


Not in the Report

by Hananobira, snowynight



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Culture, Angst and Humor, Episode: s01e17 Shore Leave, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Intoxication, Mission Fic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-11-29 17:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11445639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hananobira/pseuds/Hananobira, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowynight/pseuds/snowynight
Summary: While accurate mission reports are required by Starfleet regulation, Spock choose not to include some of the mission details concerning Jim and himself as they are not necessary for the fleet's examination.





	Not in the Report

**Author's Note:**

> snowynight: Thank you to my pod_together partner Hana, who not only helped brainstorm and beta my fic, but also created a spectacular podfic.

**Streaming:**  


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* * *

First Officer’s log. Stardate: 3025.3

The captain and the crew have been irritable and quarrelsome since the previous missions, and are in need of rest. If the survey report of the planet in the Omicron Delta region is positive, it will be a logical location for shore leave.

* * *

 

After confirming that Jim left himself off the shore party roster, Spock looked for Jim in his quarters and was going to address the issue when Lieutenant Uhura put through the doctor’s call from the planet.

“Captain, are you beaming down?” the doctor asked.

Jim replied, “I hadn't planned to, Bones. Why?”

The doctor launched into an explanation ripped straight from a Terran children’s book. “On this supposedly uninhabited planet, I just saw a large rabbit pull a gold watch from his vest and claim that he was late,” the doctor said through the communicator from the planet’s surface.

Jim logically dismissed it as a ploy to get the captain off the Enterprise to enjoy his well-deserved shore leave, as even Spock would admit the doctor's improvisation was too fanciful to believe. Fortunately, as a Vulcan, Spock had already prepared his best strategy before the confrontation, per the advice of pre-Reform strategists.

“We have a crewmember aboard who's showing signs of stress and fatigue. Reaction time down nine to twelve percent, associational reading norm minus three,” Spock said. “He's becoming irritable and quarrelsome, yet he refuses to take rest and rehabilitation. Now, he has that right, but we've found ---”

Jim responded as Spock predicted. “A crewman's right ends where the safety of the ship begins. That man will go a shore on my orders. What's his name?”

His resisted a smirk when saying the name: “James Kirk.”

Jim pouted while reluctantly conceding his defeat. Despite what intergalactic tabloids wanted to believe, Jim was a workaholic who delayed his much needed rest, disregarding his health, so it was up to his friends to intervene.

* * *

 

“Get this message to all shore parties. Stand by. No one is to leave the ship,” Jim ordered through the communicator.

Spock sighed. He should have known that the planet was anything other than peace, sunshine and good air. While it was illogical to suggest anyone was a trouble magnet, Jim was a statistical anomaly in regard to unusual events happening during their missions, even considering his occupation, curiosity and willingness to be at the front lines.

When he detected strange readings suggestive of a power field from the planet’s surface interrupting their communications, he clamped down on his worry for Jim and other landing party members.

“First there was McCoy's Alice in Wonderland where there was supposedly no animal life. And Sulu's gun where there's no refined metal detected. Rodriguez' birds. And then my, well, the two people I saw…” Jim abruptly stopped.

 _Who are the two people?_ Spock thought and suggested a logical hypothesis. “Any chance these could be hallucinations?”

Spock’s worry strengthened when the communication signals weakened. He did not like the implication that sentient beings from Jim’s past who could cause physical harm were present on a planet with supposedly no animal life, especially when Jim brushed down his suggestion to send an armed party.

As communication was cut off between the captain and the ship, it was his duty to beam down to assess the situation and retrieve the landing party, and he had fully accounted for the risk of a transporter accident. He did not worry, as it was illogical, so he chose not to notice Uhura’s knowing look when he left the bridge.

He beamed down in time to see Jim involved in a fistfight. He was about to intervene, but he saw how gleeful Jim was so his phaser remained at his side. It was very… interesting to see Jim bruised, clothes damaged, yet beaming like the sun. He also decided to check into the records of this Finnegan Jim had mentioned.

The subsequent illogical and absurd happenings (antique warplanes shooting in formation, black knights on horseback) were explained by the caretaker, so that the Enterprise crew and her captain could resume their shore leave. If Spock were a human, he would dread writing the mission report as it was too fanciful even for the Enterprise.

If he left too fast after Jim’s reunion with the woman in white, it was only because he needed to return to the ship to supervise various experiments and the ship's daily operations. To presume otherwise would be absurd.

* * *

 

First Officer’s log. Stardate 3125.2

We have arrived at Caspian I for a diplomatic mission. While the Caspians were open to further contact with Starfleet, our mission was cut short when I was indisposed because of an unexpected reaction to a local drink.

* * *

 

Caspian I was an Earth-like planet with a mild climate and reliable seasons, and the landmasses were situated in the temperate zones, featuring open and rolling landscapes with little variation in altitude. Jim’s face lit up at the green landscape when they beamed down to the surface.

“For once we may finally find a safe Eden. I guess it’s time for us to catch a break from hostile aliens,” Jim said as the local council invited them to join their festival celebration. “They look friendly enough. “

Spock nodded. “Indeed. They are very open about the exchange of scientific ideas.”

“All the scientists adore you,” Jim laughed. Their eyes literally sparkled when they saw Spock, eager for conversations with him.

Jim turned to his team. “Remember that we’re still on a mission. Perform to the best of your abilities as I know you all will. Pay attention to everything.”

“Yes, Captain,” the team answered.

The local people invited them to dance and sing together in a public square. The music shifted paces to match their dance, changing from smooth and relaxing to a complicated mathematical rhythm.

“Today’s the beginning of our season of change, the end of an old life and beginning of a new one. It’s time for a Shots Bird Red!” the host said, raising a cup of a deep red bubbling drink.

The locals passed one to each of the Starfleet Officers. As the tricorder reading indicated that it was safe for consumption, everyone drank including Spock.

It tasted sweet and spicy, reminding Spock of a favourite childhood beverage that was said to improve sleep. A comfortable warmth settled in his stomach.

Spock’s sense of smell sharpened. Spock was suddenly aware how overwhelming the smell of the square was: salty sweat, something sweet that smelt like shampoo with a hint of blue cheese, beeswax, and unpolished wood. His head hurt. Despite his mental control, he took a step backward.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jim took his wrist and asked, worry and concern dripping from his voice.

Jim smelt like regulation soap and wet salty air after a thunderstorm, a respite from the attack on Spock’s senses. Spock leaned into Jim and stuck his nose into Jim’s neck, grounding himself in Jim’s smell in this sea of confusion. He was aware of how inappropriate it was, but he no longer remembered why.

“Spock? Spock?” Jim asked. His pulse raced underneath his skin while he tried gently to push Spock away, but Spock tightened his hold around Jim, vaguely hearing a whimper that sounded like his.

“You may release me. It’s a bit tight,” Jim’s voice tensed up, but he gave up the struggle, so Spock relaxed his hold.

He lost sense of the time, nuzzling Jim’s skin and sighing, Jim with an arm around his back.

“It’s all right, Spock. You’ll be all right.”

They returned to the ship. Bones detected an ingredient in the local drink that affected the Vulcan brain. After taking the antidote, Spock escaped to his quarters, not believing that he had practically molested his captain in a public event during a mission.

Jim’s message came when Spock had just finished meditation. Spock’s heart sank as he pressed the button.

“Spock, I’ve sent you the draft of my report about the mission. I’d like you to take a look for any improvements needed. Please hand in your report in advance so that I have time to read it and submit it with mine.”

 _I should have checked up on the biology experiment in Lab 5 first before reading Jim’s message_ , Spock thought. However, he realized that he was only prevaricating to himself. Almost sighing, he read Jim’s message on his pad.

“Starfleet Mission Report. Report number: E5070. Stardate 1658.3. Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. Location: Caspian I,” the monotone voice of the computer helped sooth Spock’s nerves.

“Under Starfleet’s orders, I led a landing party consisting of Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Marie Harrison, Ensign Candace Soto, Ensign Sean Lee and myself to Caspian I for a surveying mission,” the computer continued.

Jim described the geographical environment, the general politics and the population in the report. When he covered the happenings planetside, he only wrote, “The local people invited us to a festival event. Unfortunately as Mr. Spock has had an adverse reaction to a drink offered as a sign of hospitality, we had to return to the ship early. Further contact is recommended, with attention to the calibration of tricorders adjusted to a range that covers different species’ biology.”

Nothing was mentioned about Spock’s shameful behaviour.

He went to Jim’s quarters. “I notice that your report does not cover the details of my medical condition.”

“Every crew member deserves privacy about their medical conditions as long as it doesn’t pose a danger to the ship, the mission, or any crew members. I don’t see any need to go into details.”

Spock was warmed by Jim’s consideration, but he protested, “My misconduct almost caused a diplomatic incident.”

“You had an unexpected medical response to a previously unknown factor so you received the necessary medical help. It's nothing more than that.”

Spock was not quite sure his words could be adequate, but he tried anyway because Jim deserved it. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and remember to hand in your report on time. You’d better get some rest now, or Bones will bite my head off,” Jim said with the same fond smile as ever.

Spock left Jim’s quarters with warmth filling his body, mentally starting to draft the report, plans for a trip to Lab 5 and action points for his other projects.

* * *

 

Captain's Log, Entry made by First Officer Spock, acting captain. Stardate 3143.5

Captain Kirk is still missing after the explosion of the Theseus III space station. The Enterprise currently remains in the area to continue the search until further orders are received.

* * *

 

Spock had thought that the mission report for Caspian I was hard before Jim and the rest of the landing party were stranded on the space station on the eve of an electric storm.

”Captain, the transporter can only beam up four of you because of the electric storm. One of you will have to stay behind and wait,” Spock said through the communicator, his calm voice betraying none of the uneasiness he felt.

”Captain Kirk to Enterprise. Beam up the crew first.”

“Yes, Captain,” Spock replied, knowing yet hating it would be Jim’s answer.

Finally it was Jim's turn, but suddenly the transporter tech shouted through the comm, “We've lost the captain's signal!”

The space station exploded before them.

Spock almost crushed the captain's chair's arms, rising to stride towards his station for any possible evidence of Jim’s survival.

The ship’s sensors were picking up on a strange energy signature. _Was it possible Jim had been transported away before the explosion?_

As an ambassador's son, Spock used his family connections to pull every string to be allowed to remain in the same sector for his investigation. Hitting several dead ends and false trails, Spock began to wonder whether he had lost Jim forever.

The ship now felt cold to Spock after losing her sun. Spock illogically hated the captain’s chair as it reminded him of the reason he sat on it, rather than the man who should be on the bridge, making inspired decisions under duress, and lighting up with his smile and nonchalant jokes. Sometimes he turned to his left looking for the expected smile, but found only air as his companion.

When someone started drawing strange graffiti all over the ship. Spock led the search for the culprit to distract himself. He forgot to breathe as he recognized Jim’s handwriting in the graffiti.

Spock worked endlessly with the other officers until he located Jim’s captors.

“You can’t have him back,” the leader said, “We haven’t finished our experiment yet. He’s the finest specimen we’ve ever seen.”

Spock glared at them, who had abducted Jim to their ship residing in a different dimension. They had drugged Jim to force his compliance, but Jim drew messages for help on the Enterprise’s walls before being knocked into unconsciousness.

“I have come to bring him back,” Spock said, holding the unconscious Jim closer in his arms. Jim’s face was flushed and his skin felt hot. He needed medical help immediately.

Pressing a button on the device he and Mr Scott had made together, Spock set his plan in action, incapacitated the aliens with energy waves and lost them by maneuvering through a wormhole. Immediately upon beaming back, Spock had Jim sent to Sickbay.

“Thanks for saving me,” Jim said. “I had thought for several days that I would be left at their mercy for life as they faked my death.”

“You will never be alone.”

Startled, Jim smiled so brightly that it lit up the room. The warmth which had been missing from the ship returned. “I will count on that, Mr. Spock.”

“I stand by my words,” Spock replied with softened eyes, intent on keeping his promise as long as he breathed. He stayed with Jim until Jim was asleep, and started writing a report of the incident. Command would have the facts they needed, but they would not be privy to certain irrelevant personal details about the Enterprise’s captain and first officer, as was proper for an official document.

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogues are taken from Shore Leave, Season 1 Episode 17
> 
> Reader’s Note: All sound effects and background noises courtesy of Trek Core


End file.
